FOR WOMEN
The Oldest Profession
As a general rule, a man or any society is never self- sufficient. We can safely assume that the necessities of life viz. Air, water and food were available in plenty during the earlier centuries of humanity. As society advanced, a lot of things started getting added to the list of necessities of life.
All the activities that procured the necessities in the beginning or were there to kill some extra time that the slow societal progress provided, became professions in due course of time.
A lot of things like searching for food, making dwellings to stay safe from the elements, entertainment, vanity and various crafts were done by the laymen on their own since nobody cared about the aesthetics of it as long as it served the purpose. People, as members of a tribe, shared with other members of the tribe and did things as a unit. If someone was adept at building a hut, he would have helped someone who was not. If someone could hunt better, others would have helped him in locating the prey and carrying it back to their dwelling place. You don’t count the teeth of a cow given in charity, so people were happy with whatever help they were getting from other slightly more qualified members of their tribes.
But, it is sound reasoning that there existed people who appreciated things for their beauty and their power to evoke emotions, beauty and emotion that appealed to the heart, and stirred theirs and other’s souls. Thus was born the artist who found a new way of doing things or putting in that extra effort to make things stand out from the rest of the creations. The enterprising among the tribe became the first artists, who saw the innate beauty of mundane things by discovering new ways of observing it.
I agree with the Socratic classification of genuine arts in ‘Dialogue with Polus’: Legislation, Justice, Training and Medicine. (The former two relate to the soul and the latter two to the body). The spurious arts of Sophistry, Oratory, Beauty-culture and Cookery respectively put on the guise of each of these genuine arts, becoming knacks, gained by experience.
Artistry became a profession when people expected ‘professionalism’ from the artist. To hone one’s skill, it required hard work, time and concentration and getting free from the everyday life of having to search for food and keeping oneself safe. It eventually might have led to people patronizing the artists, and to put a barter system in place, so that the artist could keep on producing things that the general populace could not. When the artist trained others to satiate the growing demand, others may not have been able to imbibe the true art behind it but it was enough to make one qualified to produce crafts that were far better than the laymen. In this way, various professions were born.
Let us take an example: Dancing around the fire gave the tribe joy and a chance to socialise since we expected everybody to join in. What else was there to do before going off to sleep? Some dancers might have enjoyed the act more than others. As is the wont of the human mind, we excel at an activity that we enjoy. These dancers might have done it with such grace and beauty that they left others, who watched them having a go at it, mesmerized. Some connoisseurs might have pushed them to do it even better. Thus were born the patrons, to sponsor these enthusiastic dancers, to make them into artists, and eventually professional dancers who trained others to achieve the perfection they possessed or at the very least tried to achieve what they had with their artistic ability.
We can apply the example above to the art of vanity, farming, hunting, making dwellings, and many other professions.
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Now coming to the age-old question—what is the oldest profession in the world? Though it is not a burning question, great minds have put their views regarding this in their writings.
The so-called ‘learned professions’: divinity, medicine and law are agreed upon as the true professions. We added military later on to the list. Some add engineering and architecture to these coveted professions in Medieval and Early Modern tradition. In effect, a great many professions vouch for the title of the oldest profession in the world.
Preachers and clergymen, referred to as the scum of the society in some atheist traditions, are strong contenders for the title of the oldest profession. They soothed the souls by interpreting the messages of the various Gods that they or someone else before them had devised (along with soul), explained the natural phenomenon, and admonished the wicked and praised the nobles (as per their definitions of wicked and noble, of course.). But, as the saying goes: Bhookhe pet na hoye Bhajan Gopala (One cannot praise the lord on an empty stomach), the clergy came after we secured a continuous source of food, which brings us to the claim of agriculturists and horticulturists, the most ‘scientific’ of all claims.
Since food was available in plenty, gathering food and storing it for future use never occurred to the earliest humans. Storing food in seed form for the next season was something that contributed to a settled life. Agriculture was an organized activity that required due diligence, and one had to learn it from others. All other activities started with agriculture, and they still do. So, we can say with reasonable certainty that agriculture might be the oldest profession.
Medicine is also referred to as the oldest profession but midwifery and nursing professionals swiftly counter this argument.
Some radical ideas have also been given regarding this. The Irish poet, Henry Brooke, declared scamming was the oldest profession.
In his words:
Of all trades and arts in repute or possession,
Humbugging is held the most ancient profession.
The title has been applied to murderers too. Charles William Heckethorn, in The Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries, describing the Thugs of India, said:
The hierophant, on initiating the candidate, says to him: ‘Thou hast chosen, my son, the most ancient profession, the most acceptable to the deity. Thou hast sworn to put to death every human being fate throws into thy hand...’
The deity referred to in here is Hindu Goddess Kali, the one who is shown, as drinking blood from a human skull and with a garland of skulls around her neck. She is also shown with her tongue stuck out, and her feet on a motionless Shiva, the significance of all of which, I shall explain at the end of this essay.
Speaking of murderers, lawyers also claim that theirs is the oldest profession. But I shall cite Sir Walter Scott here: ‘[A] lawyer without history of literature is a mechanic, a mere working mason; if he possesses some knowledge of these, he may call himself an architect.’
So this puts literature before the profession of law, which though pleases my heart does not put my doubts to rest fully here as there is evidence of laws being made and followed even before writing evolved.
Similarly, Tailors also lay the same claim to their profession. As per Christian theology, Adam and Eve, the first humans to walk on earth, were born stark naked. Their incestuous relation gave rise to all humanity to come on earth. It is same as the relationship between Brahma, the creator god of the Hindu pantheon and his sister Gayatri. This, to a certain degree, also explains the remnants of incest, the pangs of which we feel sometimes in our collective psyche. This feeling, we swiftly relegate to the dark corners of our minds. It may come to use during a probable annihilation of mankind when procreation will depend on this primaeval feeling of incest.
Adam and Eve saw each other naked and felt humiliated-another basic human emotion, maybe the first feeling that arose through their hearts, if you believe the story. Even before eating anything (some fruit I guess, since it’s not mentioned whether it was an apple or some other fruit), they clad themselves to get out of this feeling of humiliation. They may have used the barks of trees of Eden or some broad leaves to cover their genitals and made them their 'private parts’. Hence, the claim by tailors that theirs is the first profession that humankind got engaged in.
Peruse this famous poem:
Of all the professions that ever were nam'd,
The taylor's, though slighted, is much to be fam'd':
For various invention, and antiquity,
No trade with the tayler's comparèd may be:
After pointing out that Adam and Eve made garments for themselves, and were therefore tailors, it continued:
Then judge if a tayler was not the first trade. The oldest profession, and they are but raylers, Who scoff and deride men that be merchant-taylers.
But, there are still civilizations, far away from us ‘civilized’ people, who like to stay as they were born, sometimes naked, sometimes scantily dressed. So this argument also does not hold only on the premise that Adam and Eve covered themselves first and then did anything else.
Let me digress a bit here to point out that a Bhakti- period Saint of India named Peepa took up the job of tailoring. Like other Bhakti-period Saints, he felt that instead of seeking alms, an ascetic should engage in a profession for his upkeep. He was the one who proposed a new fifth Varna, composed of professionals besides the agreed-upon four-fold Varna-system.
Coming back to the various claims, true to Barbers’ claim, records show that Egypt is the first civilization to have developed barbering techniques & tools that we recognize today. They may have been the first artists whom the others patronized and barbering grew into a profession. While the other professions were simply different means of livelihood the one where prolonged training and qualification was required was barbering. Barbers in Egypt worked in the open and had their customers, including kings, kneel before them while they would go about their work in full view of passersby. With a razor near your neck, you are more than likely to support any claim that the razor-wielder puts forward.
Drovers also put similar claims for their profession, whom I won’t discuss in detail here, since droving needed cattle and most certainly hunting, gathering, and agriculture came way before cattle-rearing.
Now let us discuss what the womenfolk might have been doing at the starting of civilization. The women in the early societies, like now, may have been confined to the settlements, not too keen on venturing outside owing to their ovulating, gestating, nursing and rearing duties. Besides, they took care of the household and tended to plants that were to give them food on fruition.
Have you seen a man trying to guide the tendrils of vines to climb certain support? It follows that it was the women-folk who took agriculture to new heights by devising newer technologies to attend to this profession more efficiently, while the men-folk, while in search of game in the vast forests were discovering and trying ways to stay aloof from the many changes happening around them. The power that women wielded over men was clear because the children were closer to their mothers and were doing things that their mothers were telling them to do.
The sexual desire of men, still working on the principle of instinct, was too much for them to handle and they stayed away from homes, trying to curb it by using various means viz. hunting for fun, using cannabis to soothe their nerves and revelling in the company of others like them.
To protect their progeny, women needed to be always on guard and near their children. It is beyond doubt that we have killed many children (born or unborn) to make women ready for the act of copulating again.
This is the basis of the theory that prostitution is the oldest profession that mankind might have taken to.
In exchange for sexual favours, men might have given women the luxury of staying near the dwellings, in the company of children and old men, listening to the stories of young and old minds alike, and developing their mental faculties. In exchange for a settled life, a protected and provided life, and peace of mind, they might have given themselves to the men.
The female mind works on a different plane altogether, where the life of their dear ones is more important to them than any other imposed notion of modesty and unquestionable loyalty. Society had not devised the concept of marriage, and it didn't impose monogamy on the frivolous nature of humankind; yet.
They might have lured men into monogamy by professing their loyalties and how this will be better for the coming generations, how taking care of the children together will mould them into fitter members of the society and how making a child learn from a single set of parents instead of from the whole tribe will create less confusion.
Every family has an ideology that it commonly agrees upon. Rearing their children according to that ideology is a source of gratification and pleasure for both the parents and children alike.
As the societal rules got rigid, this exchange might have become more and more institutionalized and we gave it the name of marriage. Men by nature are not monogamous; everyone knows that, so don’t fool others and especially yourself. Polygamy is a choice that most men will succumb to if given the opportunity and the risks are less. Lawmakers, who incidentally are always men, have justified polygamy in the name of the burgeoning population of womankind because of their partners dying of various adventures like wars and jingoistic pursuits such as crusades. Women are keen on monogamy, as it provides a sense of security to them and their progeny.
The qualities that a man looked for in a woman were her desirability and the ability to take care of the household, old members of the tribe and the children. Monogamy is prostitution in its purest form. The man hunted, gathered and provided for the woman and she gave her sex in return.
The lovers also deserve a special mention here as they gave many males the same privileges that women commanded in exchange for the emotional comfort they provided to power-wielding females. Also, we gave the homosexuals the same treatment regarding their becoming a commodity.
Thus comes the phrase, ‘the oldest profession in the world’, a polite way to refer to prostitution, famously popularized by Rudyard Kipling.
Referring to the definition of profession again, how many prostitutes do you see who are qualified to do the job? The lesser experienced they are, more is their value. It requires no formal training (they still do) since it’s instinctive and you can only hone your skill to a certain degree, rest of your performance on the job depending on the state of mind of the customer. So throw prostitution as a strong contender for this title out of the window.
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My opinion on this matter hardly matters. Still, I would like to give my two pennies worth on it. Traders, known variously as pimps and agents, are the true claimants to this title of the oldest profession in the world.
So how did this profession of trading/pimping arise? During the earlier years when settled life began and sex became taboo and you had to live with each other permanently, following the societal norms, some men might have been left behind in matters of conjugality. Still, some others, owing to their polygamous nature, might have wanted more than what they were getting.
Some women might not have seen themselves adjusting to the mould the new society presented to them. After all ‘God’ has given us free will, and they might have used their free will to make themselves available to men of all standings, without discrimination, the sole motive of theirs, being in a blissful world of plenty, without doing much hard work.
Most men will agree with me on this that they perspire in the presence of women, at least during their first meetings. How can you expect these weaklings to ask a woman if she is ready to copulate with him? Most dates, even in this age, are introduced by friends, social circles or by dating websites and apps. Even if a friend introduces us to a beautiful girl, and we hit it off instantly, mostly because of our charisma, we feel obligated to treat that friend, at least for the introduction. Remember, treating someone to a drink is also payment. You pay the cut and carry on with your life.
In the same way, men in ancient societies took permission/help from people known to both parties, to grow close to each other, temporarily or permanently. These people could be the mothers of the girl, her fathers, her friends, her uncles, her brothers and every relationship we can imagine. When we, as a society, felt the need to classify them as professional; Mama-Sans, Pimps, Adhtiya and other synonyms of the word agents came and stayed.
In this way, women (or anyone providing carnal pleasure) became the first commodity. There is not a single example where we have exploited a class of people for so long and they have not revolted. Fearing the influence that females wield on the upcoming generations, by being the first teachers; their ability to tilt decisions in their favour, by using their sensuality; their ability to follow their hearts, due to them being so comfortable with the human emotions; and their ability to think more logically due to compartmentalizing bent of their minds, males took the collective decision of not giving too much power to women: to make the society more conducive to male ego and fantasies.
Do you think females don’t know this? They do; some of them do. It’s just that they consider men to be too weak to face the truth. Men will fall like flies if we sway this power dynamics against them. They have forgiven us for what the men did collectively, to make women the slaves of men. They can survive in a position where men would have killed themselves.
But, as retribution we are in this state where power is concentrated in the hands of a few, millions are hungry, and anthropogenic pollution threatens the very existence of humankind. After all, why would the decision of concentrating power in a few hands i.e. males during the early years, not blow out of proportion, making the limited resources on earth available to a minority, most of them men?
The mythology of Goddess Kali shows us that women are capable of destruction too and she could have gone astray as the Goddess did after destroying the demons. She started drinking the blood of whoever came her way. Shiva, her male counterpart, had to fall at her feet. The Goddess upon putting her feet on Shiva’s body stuck out her tongue in shock and horror, which signifies her coming to senses and realizing that males can be servile too and the pure ones among them have to be cared for if the society has to progress. The women have forgiven the men for making them the first commodity of the world.
I won’t suggest that human society would have fared much better if we would have given the power to decide the course of history into female hands. But, wouldn’t it have been better if both the major sexes and those out of the purview of this classification would have been given equal powers of decision- making, all contributing with the qualities that make them proud members of their respective communities.